Lack of Reason in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- GCSE Coursework Shake

Lack of Reason in Shakespeares OthelloWilliam Shakespeare presents the character Othello as an excellent leader in the play, Othello. The numbfish has strength, charisma, and articulateness. Yet Othello cannot reason. The battlefield and Senate are, at least in Othello, depicted as places of honor, where men speak truly. In addition, the matters of war and state are relatively aboveboard no one lies to Othello, all seem to respect him. He never even has to fight in the play, with the enemy disappearing by themselves. This simplistic spatial relation does not help him in matters of the heart. His marriage is based on tall tales and pity and his friendships are never examined he thinks that anyone who knows him love him. Thus the ultimate valuation of Othello must be that, although he leads well and means well, he lacks good judgment and common sense. This becomes most plainly obvious in his final twain speeches, where even though the play ends properly, and in a dignified way, O thello never fully realizes or takes responsibility for what has happened. These two last orations of Othello are noble in speech and purpose, but lack comprehension. He uses the first to attack himself for his horrible deed certainly this is the first reaction of anyone who has wrongly killed his beloved. He delivers condemnation upon himself with eloquence and anguish. The latter speech he gives in his final role as a leader, directing the men who remain about how to deal with what has happened and showing them he has purged the evil. In his initial self-loathing and remorse at realizing the truth of Desdemonas innocence, Othello is genuinely anguished. This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven, / And fiends will snatch at it. (V.2.325-326) It is clear t... ...this, Othello dies not as a tragic hero, but as someone destroyed by circumstance and evil. But the superficiality of his marriage and the fact that if he had altogether been honest to his wife and lieutenant he wou ld have found out the truth point in another direction. Othello could lead, but he could not reason. deeds Cited and Consulted Armstrong, Edward Allworthy. 1946. Shakespeares imagination a study of the psychology of association and inspiration. London L. Drummond. Gardner, Helen. The Noble Moor. Othello Critical Essays. Ed. Susan Snyder. raw(a) York and London Garland Publishing, Inc., 1988 Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello The Moor of Venice. The Signet Classic Shakespeare. Ed. Alvin Kernan. New York Penguin Putnam, 1998. Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada University of Toronto Press, 1957.